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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26228977">Dungeons and Bandwagons</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Halfblood_Fiend/pseuds/Halfblood_Fiend'>Halfblood_Fiend</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Star Trek 2020 Filled Bingos [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Trek, Star Trek: Voyager</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Dungeons &amp; Dragons References, F/M, Shenanigans, Slice of Life</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:00:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,841</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26228977</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Halfblood_Fiend/pseuds/Halfblood_Fiend</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Giana attempts to organize her first D&amp;D campaign onboard the Voyager, it turns out to be a bit more complicated than she thought.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Star Trek 2020 Filled Bingos [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1904971</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Star Trek Bingo Summer 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Dungeons and Bandwagons</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For the Star Trek Bingo 2020:<br/>Vertical Prompt 3</p><p>Chess/"Board" Games</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>We’d been going around and around for most of our lunch break. I did not think that introducing twenty-third century people to D&amp;D would be so difficult.</p><p>After another explanation, Harry Kim stared at me with his hands folded beneath his chin for too long a while. “I don’t get it,” he said finally, picking his fork back up to resume playing with his food. “How is that supposed to be better than a holodeck program?”</p><p>“Uhhh… it’s interactive and adaptable?”” I offered. “Your DM makes the story up for you as you go.”</p><p>“An adept programmer could make the holodeck function in the same manner,” Vorik chimed in from my right. I had to keep from rolling my eyes.</p><p> “Hey! You’re supposed to be on my side!”</p><p>He shrugged without looking at me. “I am on the side of logic.”</p><p>I ignored this, shaking my head and insisted to Harry, “There are scenarios you just can’t plan for.”</p><p>“Oh yeah? Like what?”</p><p>“Like…”</p><p>God. Like deciding to bang the first NPC you meet. Why? Eh, just ‘cause. Like deciding as a group to put on a spur-of-the-moment chili cook off to grant the deed to the town’s tavern to the winner because, <em>obviously</em> a chilli cook-off is the most fair way to make decisions. Or like deciding to betray your entire party for your character’s freedom, and then betraying those new allies and running off alone. Or like solving every kidnapping or murder problem by rolling the unwanted body up in a rug, and then lying to so many people about your rug selling business that your party all decide to petition the city for an actual business license, thus derailing the campaign for weeks as you all turn in your paperwork and get in touch with a real estate agent within the fantasy city in order to find a place to house your Totally-Not-Fake Rug and Carpeting Business.</p><p>But how to explain all that?</p><p>“Man… you just gotta trust me,” I sighed. “There are <em>way </em>too many variables to be able to make a program that will adapt to <em>all </em>of them. You have <em>no way </em>of knowing what could happen during a D&amp;D campaign. <em>Trust me.</em>”</p><p>“Eh, I’m down to try,” Lyssa Campbell said. When Harry gave her a doubtful look, she shrugged. “Hey, it’s gotta be better than that poker everyone is always playing. And as long as we’re all relaxing and talking and having fun, then it sounds like it’ll be just fine.”</p><p>“Sounds like a rip off of my Grendel program,” Harry muttered. “And not even as interesting because we aren’t fighting holographic monsters. We’re just—what? —imagining everything happening?”</p><p>“Aha! I got it,” I said with a snap of my fingers, cutting off whatever he was talking about. “Dice!”</p><p>Harry raised his eyebrows and Vorik said, “Explain.”</p><p>“You can’t roll dice on the holodeck.”</p><p>“So?”</p><p>“So! Rolling the dice to try and see how well you do things is the best part!”</p><p>“If you’re telling me <em>that’s </em>the best part of this game, I’m really doubting how much “fun” you claim it to be.”</p><p>“Aww, come on, Harry! Let’s just try it!”</p><p>He shook his head again, but a smile started pulling at his lips. “Fine, but I’m <em>not</em> going to have fun and I <em>will</em> complain the whole time.”</p><p>“Doubt that,” I replied with a wink. “But I’ll take it for now.”</p>
<hr/><p>“Giana! If you can spare a moment, I have an inquiry regarding your role-playing game.”</p><p>Similar sentiments had been asked of me by most of my friends and future players, but Vorik was the last person that I had expected to have any trouble with character building. Yet here Vorik was, appearing at my shoulder before I could enter the turbolift to leave Engineering.</p><p>“An inquiry? Now is that <em>more</em> or <em>less</em> important than a plain question?”</p><p>He gave me a puzzled look as we entered the lift together and I smiled.</p><p>“Nevermind. Shoot.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Ask me the question. Deck two.”</p><p>The turbolift slid into motion and Vorik began, “I was looking over the documents you sent those of us who required characters for your Dungeons and Dragons—”</p><p>I smiled at his use of the name but nodded.</p><p>“—and I noticed that ‘Human’ is among the other more fantastical races that one can play. It gave me an idea that I wished to discuss with you.”</p><p>“Oh, yeah… I mean, I wouldn’t worry about that. It’s just an old Human-made game, remember? Don’t take it too seriously. I, like, literally never actually played a Human before. That would just be like playing myself and, sure, you always kinda do that but who wants to be so <em>obvious</em> about it?”</p><p>Vorik blinked. “I would.”</p><p>It was my turn to ask, “What?”</p><p>“If Humans can exist in this world, then I would like to role-play as a Vulcan.”</p><p>I chewed my lip, my heart sinking because I felt like Vorik was missing the point. Here I thought he was going to do something interesting when he asked to join the party. I was excited to see what he would come up with. But, then again, it wasn’t like he role-played very much when we played Skyrim together on the holodeck either. His inflexible and aloof attitude usually confused all the Nords until I stepped in to use the “proper” language. Made him useless at price haggling.</p><p>Since he wanted to play at all, I conceded to myself, that had to be close enough. I didn’t want to totally control his play. I never liked it when my DMs had done that in the past.</p><p>
  <em>He a little confused, but he got the spirit.</em>
</p><p>“Okay,” I relented, “I’ll see what I can do about homebrewing a ‘Vulcan’ stat-block for you, just…promise me one thing?”</p><p>My Vulcan companion quirked an eyebrow at me. “Yes?”</p><p>The turbolift stopped and opened its doors. I could hear the sounds of soft chatter and laughter coming from the mess hall. Whatever Neelix was cooking wafted up the corridor and smelled really promising. My stomach grumbled in response.</p><p>“Just don’t play yourself,” I said as we both stepped off the lift and the doors slid closed behind us. “If you show up with a character named ‘Vorik,’ I’m going to kick you from the game. And then, literally kick you in the shins.”</p><p>“An extreme reaction, don’t you think?”</p><p>I put up my fists as if I was gonna fight him. “Oh, I can get <em>more </em>extreme.”</p><p>Looking at my poor guard dubiously, he said dryly, “I’m sure. Your Human penchant for hysterics?”</p><p>“Hysterics?! Oh! Well how about <em>your </em>high drama, mister??”</p><p>“I do not know to what you could be referring.”</p><p>The line at Neelix’s kitchen counter was somewhat long, which gave Vorik and I plenty of time to debate the “logic” of Vulcan fashion choices back and forth. I insisted they were dramatic for no reason and Vorik tried to act like real thought went into all the high collars and zig-zagged diagonal clasps. Neelix’s pasta dish actually did look as promising as it smelled, which was a nice surprise.</p><p>“Ah, Miss Giana, I almost forgot,” Neelix gasped as I turned away, drawing me back. “Ensigns Swinn and Jurot wanted to ask you about—ah—something called a ‘character sheet’?”</p><p>I thanked him with a smile and motioned for Vorik to help me pick them out of the crowded hall at dinner hour.</p>
<hr/><p>The day had come to start our campaign and not a moment too soon. I was excited as all hell. I’d hardly slept at all the night before, choosing instead to expand some NPC backstories and prepare a few more monsters. Just in case.</p><p>All of my players’ character sheets were checked and filed on my PADD for reference. I couldn’t help but laugh when Vorik sent me his and I saw the name at the top of the sheet. He had listened to me and wasn’t playing himself…but I was very curious to see how <em>Surak</em> the monk was going to handle my adventure. I was pretty pleased with everyone’s character concepts, actually. I had a pretty balanced group.</p><p>I’d decided some time ago that a grand total of six players was all that I could conceivably handle. But that hadn’t stopped everyone else from trying to ask for a spot. Dozens of requests had flooded my inbox from all corners of the ship (Neelix’s doing, I assumed) and I had spent a good chunk of time yesterday writing personal “sorry, maybe next times.”</p><p>Even Chakotay had sent me a note! Not to, like, join or anything, but still! He mentioned that he was familiar with the old game and wanted to tell me that he thought it would be good for morale and crew unity and other things commanders cared about.</p><p>I practically sprinted away the second my shift was over, bolting to the door before Lieutenant Carey had even said goodbye.</p><p>I was the last player on duty, and my group’s attitude towards D&amp;D had changed dramatically once they’d built their characters. They all made me promise not to keep them waiting for too long.</p><p>
  <em>And speak of the devil.</em>
</p><p>The communicator badge on my chest chirped before I’d made it halfway down the corridor. Harry’s voice crackled over the comm.</p><p>“Uhhh…Giana?”</p><p>I tapped the badge to answer. “Yeah, yeah, Harry. I’m on my way as fast as I can, okay?”</p><p>“Oh… No, no. It’s not that…”</p><p>Was I hearing things, or did I detect the hum of a lot of voices in the background?</p><p>“What is it?”</p><p>He sounded uncomfortable. “I think we need to find a different venue to play. Your quarters are going to be a little cramped…” Muted voices spoke rapidly but I couldn’t catch any words. “Meet us in the Lounge instead. Vorik says he has a code and he’d grab the PADD with your notes. I made him promise not to look.”</p><p>Nervous laughter bubbled from my mouth. “Uhh…why?”</p><p>Vorik’s voice resonated over Harry’s comm. “There are thirty-six other people who would like to spectate our game. At first it did not seem inconceivable to accommodate a few of them when they asked…”</p><p>“But all of us told a couple people that they could come and now there’s thirty-six of them,” Harry finished. “Sorry, Gee…”</p><p>
  <em>Thirty-six… That’s forty-two people…</em>
</p><p>My jaw actually dropped.</p><p>“Okay,” I said in a small voice. “See… S-See you all there…” I killed the line by tapping on my badge again and wobbled.</p><p>I was shaking when I boarded the turbolift.</p><p>I’d never DM-ed a game before in my life, even though I’d talked about doing so on several occasions back home. So, without experience, or my old friends to ask for tips, I was already starting out nervous.</p><p>But now?</p><p>
  <em>Holy shit.</em>
</p><p>What was I gonna do??</p><p>I blinked and the turbolift doors slipped shut on me, whisking me away to an uncertain fate.</p>
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